A world-first process to sustainably chemically recycle contaminated plastic waste that cannot be mechanically recycled wins the top award at the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) Global Awards 2020. The novel process could play a significant role in solving the global plastic waste challenge, according to IChemE, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to alternative processes using fossil fuels to convert this waste to energy.
For the past 10 years, Plastic Energy has developed its own patented technology able to convert contaminated and mixed plastic waste – such as polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene – into into a feedstock to produce virgin quality plastic, which is then manufactured and sold in food packaging. The technology has reportedly been supported by key figures in the plastic debate, including Sir David Attenborough.
Plastic Energy is currently upscaling its capacity from processing 20 tons per day to 60–75 tons per day. The company is also developing additional projects worldwide. For this project, Plastic Energy won the Innovative Product and Sustainability categories, before it was crowned with the coveted Outstanding Achievement in Chemical and Process Engineering Award.
This year’s awards showcased incredible achievements across 20 categories, according to IChemE. The winners were announced in a series of webinars from November 2-19, where finalists presented their projects and took questions from the online audience. This year three new categories were introduced to the awards program.
For the complete list of IChemE Global Award winners, visit: www.icheme.org/globalawards
